INSTITUCIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The Court of Justice of the European Union has as its mission to guarantee "the respect of the Law in the interpretation and application" of the Treaties. It is the judicial authority of the European Union and, in collaboration with the courts of the Member States, ensures the application and uniform interpretation of Union law.

Within the framework of this mission, the Court of Justice of the European Union:

It controls the legality of the acts of the EU institutions by resolving:

• Cancellation resources. If you consider that a European standard violates EU treaties or fundamental rights.
• Resources by default If the Parliament, the Council and the Commission do not take decisions.
• Actions for damages. If any person or company considers itself harmed by action or omission of the EU or its staff.

Ensures that Member States respect the obligations set out in the Treaties: Infringement procedures

•  This type of action is undertaken against a national administration for breaching European legislation.
•  It can be established by the European Commission as well as by another member country.
•   If it is found that a country has broken the rules, it will have to remedy or face new actions and a possible fine.

Interpret Union Law at the request of national judges: Decisions

•  National courts must ensure that European legislation is applied correctly. If a national court has doubts about the interpretation or validity of a European standard, it can request a clarification from the European Court of Justice. The same mechanism can be used to determine whether a national regulation or practice is compatible with European legislation.

The Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, is composed of two jurisdictional bodies:

The Court of Justice, resolves the questions referred by the national courts, certain appeals for annulment and appeals for cassation is set by a judge for each member state and nine attorneys general.
The General Court (created in 1988) resolves the annulment remedies filed by individuals, companies and, in some cases, national governments. This means that, in practice, the court is primarily concerned with legislation on competition, state aid, trade, agriculture and trademarks, and resolves disputes between the European Union and its personnel. It is composed of one judge for each member state elected for a renewable period of six years.
In each of the courts, the judges elect their president for a renewable term of three years.